Thomas May Coach Pacers

N E W Y O R K, Oct. 3

The NBA’s approval for Isiah Thomas to coach the
Indiana Pacers while he attempts to sell his interest in the
Continental Basketball Association is not open-ended.

Thomas was granted an extension through the Pacers’ season. The
issue will be revisited sometime between the end of Indiana’s
season and the start of the 2001-02 campaign to see what progress
has been made.

The approval Monday by the league’s Board of Governors, the
NBA’s 29 team owners, was based on assurances from Thomas and the
Pacers that Thomas would have no involvement with the CBA.

“Although Isiah’s new position as an NBA head coach, while
continuing to own a minor league, is a conflict of interest under
league rules, we thought it appropriate to grant him a further
period to conclude his efforts to sell the league,” NBA deputy
commissioner Russ Granik said Monday.

NBA rules prohibit coaches from having financial interest in
another league. A 75 percent majority of the team owners was needed
to approve the extension while a transaction is being completed.

Thomas’ hiring by the Pacers was delayed by his attempt to sell
the CBA, a developmental league that he purchased for $10 million
last October.